Say Cheese (How I Met Your Mother)

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Say Cheese (How I Met Your Mother)

Say Cheese is the 18th episode of season 5 of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on March 22, 2010. The episode was directed by Pamela Fryman and written by Robia Rashid, with guest appearances by Laura Prepon, Brooke Nevin, and Anne Dudek.

Plot
- It’s Lily’s birthday. Ted arrives with his new girlfriend Amanda, who offers to bake Lily’s cake, which upsets Lily and Marshall.
- Lily receives a digital camera that contains naked photos of Marshall, a gift that shocks everyone.
- The group plays parlor games to test how well they know Lily, but Amanda doesn’t know much about her.
- Lily shows a photo album of past events where Ted brought his dates, noting that Ted’s dates always spoil things.
- Robin explains she didn’t invite Don because some friends aren’t always good to bring to every event.
- Amanda reveals the birthday cake inscription, which reads “Happy 42nd Birthday, Lori,” angering Marshall. He kicks Amanda out, explaining he’s become cynical after dealing with every girlfriend Ted ends up breaking up with.
- Ted observes that the photos hide the fights and disagreements from earlier moments. Lily apologizes to Ted and agrees to call Amanda back.
- Robin notices that Barney is posing the same way in every photo. Barney insists he never takes a bad picture and compares his look to Marshall’s—Barney always looks “drop dead, stone cold amazing,” while Marshall looks “dead, stoned, and cold.”
- Robin tries to take candid photos of Barney but finds his usual pose in every shot.
- At Lily’s next birthday, Lily asks Ted to identify Amanda in the photo album, but he can’t remember her name.
- During the group photo, Robin offers Barney some cilantro dip; he’s allergic and begins to sneeze. Robin catches Barney in a compromising position for a bad photograph.

Reception
- The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+.
- IGN gave it 7.8 out of 10.
- TV Squad’s Joel Keller found the episode “half-baked,” saying the main premise needed more exploration and the B-stories were underdeveloped.
- The Los Angeles Times liked seeing the whole group together in one episode, praising the use of flashbacks and flashforwards.
- Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger felt the Marshall-with-his-eyes-closed running gag was funnier before the episode called attention to it.